Connect
by ringspells
Summary: Harry and Pansy’s first date.


Title: Connect Author: MeLi  
  
Author's e-mail: remmirath@fibertel.com.ar  
  
Fandom: Harry Potter  
  
Pairing: Harry/Pansy  
  
Rating: PG  
  
Summary: Harry and Pansy's first date.  
  
AN: This fic was written for the Rare Pairings Fuh-Q-Fest  
  
Challenge Pairing: Harry/Pansy  
  
AN II: Severus is Harry's legal guardian in this fic. I'll explain how everything got to be this way in a prequel when I have the time to write it.  
  
AN IV: This is my first attempt at writing het. Feedback and constructive criticism are appreciated.  
  
Special Note: Thank you so much Linda and Pat for all your help!  
  
Beta: RedLotus. Thank you! Any remaining mistakes are my own, have no doubt.  
  
Disclaimer: Harry Potter and all characters in this fic belong to J. K. Rowling, Warner Brothers and many publishers including, but not limited to, Bloomsbury, Scholastic, etc.  
  
Zoe is my creation.  
  
..· * º * ·..· * º * ·..· * º * ·..· * º * ·..  
  
Harry thought he was probably going mad. Either that or he really liked putting himself in situations where he could be easily humiliated. He was fairly sure the last wasn't it. There was just no reasonable explanation for what he was about to do - at least to his friends there wasn't.  
  
"Have you thought this through, Harry?" Hermione's tactful way of putting what from Ron had been, "Are you completely barmy?!" was still in his mind as he approached the sixth year Slytherins, but he didn't back down. No; he had come to a decision and he was going to stick to it. He would ask Pansy out in front of her friends in order to show them he was serious about it, or he wouldn't ask her at all. The latter wasn't an option.  
  
This was why Harry, praying to any Deity that would listen that his Gryffindor courage didn't falter, found himself approaching a wary-looking group of Slytherins on a fine spring morning. He sighed. Well, at least he was on a first name basis with all of them. And the fact that he hadn't been in a fight with the Slytherins all year should mean something.  
  
"Hi, Pansy," Harry greeted her as he reached the Slytherin cluster, nodding to the rest of the group and receiving a nod as an answer.  
  
"Hey, Harry," Pansy greeted back in a sweet tone.  
  
It made Harry feel warm inside that Pansy would be nice to him even when surrounded by her friends. It was one thing being civil towards each other, the way Harry and the Slytherins had behaved since the beginning of the year, but being nice and warm and sweet was something completely different. Of course she had said she would treat him in public just as she did when they were alone, but Harry now realized that he hadn't really expected her to keep her word.  
  
"Pansy, there's something I'd like to ask you..." And how should he phrase it? The Slytherins were fine with Harry and Pansy's friendship, but would it be pushing them too far if he pursued a relationship with her?  
  
"Yes?" Pansy prompted when Harry stayed silent after his comment.  
  
Harry took a deep breath, not wanting to stammer through his 'speech', and said, "Unless you have already planned something with your friends, Pansy, and only if you agree, of course, I would like to take you out for dinner this Saturday."  
  
Harry took a deep breath as he awaited her answer.  
  
"Are you asking her out on a date?" Draco asked before she had a chance to answer.  
  
"Yes. I am," Harry answered firmly.  
  
"And you thought it would be a good idea to ask her in front of us," Blaise this time, his comment not quite a question.  
  
"Yes," Harry repeated. "I wanted all of you to know that I'm serious about this. It's not a joke, nor is it some trick I'm planning to play on you. I sincerely like Pansy and it would be a pleasure if she accepted to go out with me."  
  
Harry was glad he had anticipated these questions - his answers wouldn't have been quite so well phrased otherwise.  
  
"Very well. Have fun on Saturday," Draco said in his arrogant drawl.  
  
"Don't you think you should wait and see whether Pansy accepts my invitation before saying yes for her?" Harry asked, an amused smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. Draco just smirked. It was hard to believe how well they got along after their truce. They weren't exactly friends, but they were no longer enemies. They were just... able to coexist in peace.  
  
"He's right, Draco. You're treating her as if you were her father and had just set her up on a date with a worthy candidate," Millicent admonished softly.  
  
"All I did was get Harry here to show he indeed cared about what Pansy thought and prove he wasn't just interested in going out with her but in her wanting to go out with him," Draco replied calmly, his smirk sill in place.  
  
Harry just smiled at the remark. It was true, after all.  
  
"Well? Will you keep him waiting much longer? It's not such a difficult question, after all," Gregory told Pansy.  
  
"All right. I'll go out with you. Just promise you won't take me to the Raven Room," Pansy answered finally.  
  
"I wouldn't dream of it!" Harry replied with a mock-affronted gesture. "Nowhere we can run into a member of the R House."  
  
"They're still giving you a hard time?" Vincent asked with a snort. "And people think they're the smartest House at Hogwarts."  
  
"They do have a small thing to account for, though."  
  
All the Slytherins turned unbelieving eyes to Harry.  
  
"They were the reason Pansy and I became friends."  
  
"Sappy Gryffindors," Draco muttered as Pansy smiled sweetly at Harry and the others rolled their eyes and shook their heads.  
  
"So, back to the date. I say you pick her up around seven at the Slytherin Common Room," Blaise said after a short silence.  
  
"And wear something nice," Millicent added.  
  
"Do not dress in Gryffindor red," Draco continued.  
  
"And bring her a stylish corsage or some appropriate gift," Vincent finished.  
  
"Would that be all?" Harry asked dryly, raising an eyebrow at Pansy's amused smile.  
  
"No. Try to do something about your hair," Gregory said.  
  
"There's no point. This mane is untameable," Harry said, signalling his hair.  
  
"Then arrive at the Common Room half an hour early. Draco will fix your hair for you," Millicent said with a smile and an evil glint in her eyes.  
  
Harry sighed. He knew it was no use complaining - he'd end up doing as they suggested, anyway. Oh, how he hated being outnumbered!  
  
"Fine," he said finally. "I'll go to your Common Room at six thirty on Saturday."  
  
Before turning to head back towards the castle, he smiled at Pansy and added, "I'll look forward to it."  
  
"So will I," he heard Pansy say as he walked away.  
  
..· * º * ·..· * º * ·..· * º * ·..· * º * ·..  
  
"Enter," Harry heard Severus say through the door to his office shortly after he knocked. Harry did and found his Professor sitting at his desk, rolls of parchment scattered over it.  
  
"Mr. Potter. To what do I owe this pleasure?" Funny how merely one year before those same words would have been flooding with sarcasm.  
  
"I'm sorry to disturb you, Sir, but there's something I need to ask you for," Harry answered, standing in front of Severus' desk.  
  
Harry had thought of going to someone else with his request, but finally decided Snape was the one he should ask. He knew Severus was the only one that understood his friendship with Pansy and his feelings towards the Slytherins in general. The man was the reason his attitude towards the Slytherins had changed, after all.  
  
"I need for you to create a portkey to Zoe as well as your permission to take Pansy there on Saturday evening," Harry continued with a slight blush.  
  
Severus' eyebrows shot up. Zoe was one of the fanciest wizarding restaurants in Great Britain, as Severus had told Harry when he'd asked about elegant wizarding places to go on a date. Located in the Lake District, it floated 150 metres above ground, giving its customers a spectacular view of the beautiful lakes below. Numerous concealment charms not unlike those placed on Hogwarts hid it from Muggles. All this made it a favoured place among wealthy wizards and witches.  
  
After pondering the request for a while, Snape finally spoke.  
  
"You must understand, Mr. Potter, that it would not be wise were we to allow you to go alone to such a place. Not few of Voldemort's supporters will be found there."  
  
"I know, sir. But you see, I never asked to go alone. It could be arranged for a discreet teacher to accompany us. They could sit at a nearby table to keep an eye on us. I believe they could use a break themselves, however short it might be," Harry explained with a smile.  
  
'Will I ever stop wondering why you were not placed in Slytherin?' Severus mused as he regarded the young man in front of him. 'You knew Albus would never indulge such a request, much less if it involves you dating a Slytherin, yet you found the way to make sure you would be allowed to go. You know I cannot deny you anything after this summer."  
  
"Very well," Snape said at last. "I will chaperone you and Miss Parkinson on this date under one condition."  
  
When Harry realized Snape wouldn't continue until he acknowledged this fact, Harry prodded, "Yes, Sir?"  
  
"We will now go together to the Headmaster's office and you will be the one to inform him of this arrangement."  
  
Harry's face fell. He was hoping he would be able to avoid talking to the Headmaster if he went directly to Severus. He should have known better. After all, if he didn't look forward to talking to Dumbledore about it - and he had the date with Pansy as a reward - then why would Severus?  
  
"All right," Harry said finally, not finding a way out of it. "Let's go, then."  
  
..· * º * ·..· * º * ·..· * º * ·..· * º * ·..  
  
"Normally, you would need a note from your legal guardian to do such a thing, but considering he is right here and appears to agree with this, I do not see the point," Albus said, finally admitting defeat.  
  
It had taken Harry half an hour - not to mention more cunning than he'd used in his entire life to avoid falling a victim of Dumbledore's employment of the Socratic Method - to convince the Headmaster that yes, it would be perfectly safe, and no, Severus wouldn't let them out of his sight. Another three minutes were spent assuring him that Pansy wouldn't try and hurt Harry just because she was a Slytherin - a point that would have taken infinitely longer to get across if Severus hadn't been in the room.  
  
"You should go to Gryffindor Tower now, Harry. It's well past curfew," Dumbledore said, showing them to the door.  
  
"Severus, please make sure they're safe," Harry heard the Headmaster say as they exited his office.  
  
..· * º * ·..· * º * ·..· * º * ·..· * º * ·..  
  
Harry nervously stood by the door to the sixth year boys' room as he waited for someone to let him in. He had been allowed into the Slytherin Common Room by a fifth year friend of Pansy's. The door opened a few minutes later and a flustered Blaise Zabini motioned for him to enter.  
  
Upon entering the room, Harry noticed Draco standing in front of a mirror, smoothing his somewhat wrinkled robes. That, put together with the love bite on Blaise's neck and the fact that they seemed to be alone on the room, told Harry that he didn't want to ask what they had been up to when he knocked on the door.  
  
"Hmm," Draco said as he inspected Harry. "At least you dressed up."  
  
"Oh, shut up, Draco. You look good, Harry, never mind what Draco says. He'll always find a fault in others."  
  
Harry was wearing tight-fitting black robes and a classic black tuxedo under them.  
  
"Sit here," Draco commanded, signalling a chair in front of what appeared to be a dressing table.  
  
"Why on Earth is there a dressing table in this room? I thought this was the boys' dorm," Harry asked as he sat where Draco told him to.  
  
"It's not a dressing table," Draco sniffed, offended. "It's a desk that happens to have a mirror."  
  
"And a comb and brush set on it, and hair products..."  
  
"He's right, Draco. You want to be vain? Fine, but call things by their name. That is a dressing table."  
  
"Fine," Draco pouted. "It's a dressing table. Happy now?"  
  
"Oh, come on, babe. You know I wasn't making fun of you. It's not as if I said you had a boudoir, so I'm not saying you're girly. Just vain," Blaise said as he wrapped his arms around Draco and nibbled at his lower lip. "Besides, I like your narcissistic side. I haven't the faintest idea why, but I do."  
  
Blaise started kissing Draco passionately then, and Harry didn't know what to do. They had never acted this way around him. He didn't want to interrupt, but they seemed to have forgotten that he was even there. Finally he coughed to get the couple's attention.  
  
"Go, Blaise, go to the Common Room. Otherwise, Harry will never be ready on time," Draco said as he pushed his - well, boyfriend seemed like an accurate term - towards the door.  
  
As Draco moved to stand behind Harry and started studying his hair, Harry decided to talk about what he had just witnessed.  
  
"I didn't know you two were... involved," Harry said, catching Draco's gaze in through the mirror.  
  
"No one outside Slytherin does. You should feel honoured you do," Draco answered with a shrug, grabbing a brush and gently passing it through Harry's shoulder-long locks.  
  
"Why did you stop hiding it from me?" Harry asked.  
  
"Blaise likes you. He wanted to tell you, but I wasn't so sure. I think it was when you asked Pansy out that I realized it wasn't just a truce that we had going on, but that we were actually becoming friends. By asking her in front of us you didn't only prove that you sincerely cared about her, you also showed that our opinion was important to you. Now stop distracting me if you actually want your hair to look acceptable."  
  
Harry said no more. He was glad Draco thought they were becoming friends since that had been his intention when proposing the truce in the first place. And if Draco, king of sceptics, thought that, then probably the other Slytherins did as well.  
  
Two spells and a free amount of wizarding gel later, Draco deemed Harry's hair looked presentable enough for Pansy to be seen with him in public. Harry was grateful Draco hadn't slicked it back; instead, it fell tidily to the sides of his face, framing it neatly.  
  
"Come on, let's go downstairs. Pansy's probably there already, and you don't want to make her wait," Draco said, moving towards the door. Harry followed.  
  
As they entered the Common Room, Harry saw Pansy was indeed already there. He also noticed how beautiful she looked. She was wearing a long, black dress with a low neckline and an open back. Harry later learned from Draco it was made of crepe georgette. Her straight black hair fell softly over her shoulders.  
  
"You look beautiful, Pansy," he said when he realized he was gaping.  
  
"Thank you," she said with a smile. She was one of the few girls that didn't blush when paid a compliment. "You don't look too bad yourself. I like your hair."  
  
"Thank you," Harry, unlike Pansy, did blush. "Here, this is for you," Harry said as he handed her a small box with silver wrapping.  
  
"You shouldn't have," Pansy said as she took the box, clearly delighted. She opened it carefully and gasped when she saw what was inside.  
  
"Oh, Harry, it's beautiful!," she said, taking the necklace out of the box. It was made of sparkling silver stars. "Thank you, I love it," she said with a smile.  
  
She handed it to him and he placed it around her neck, brushing away her hair to do the clasp. They stared at each other for a while, smiling.  
  
"Shall we go, then?" Harry said finally, offering her his arm.  
  
"We shall," she said, taking his arm.  
  
Harry and Pansy left the Slytherin Common room and headed to Snape's office, where the three of them took a portkey to Zoe.  
  
..· * º * ·..· * º * ·..· * º * ·..· * º * ·..  
  
Upon arriving at Zoe, Harry and Pansy were immediately amazed by the sheer elegance of the place and its customers. Severus, having already been to the restaurant before, smiled inwardly at the kids' awe.  
  
"This place is wonderful," Pansy said.  
  
Right then the maitre d' asked their names and led them to their tables. Harry and Pansy sat a few tables away from Snape but well in his vision range. The maitre d' left them with their menus and went to greet more incoming customers.  
  
"Do you know what you'll have to drink?" Harry asked before opening his menu.  
  
"Carbonated water would be fine."  
  
Harry touched the small crystal that lay in the middle of the table and ordered two bottles of Ty Nant - one carbonated and one still, since he didn't like bubbles. It was the best mineral water - it was famous even in the Muggle world.  
  
Harry was glad Severus had explained to him how the service worked in this kind of place. He never would have guessed that he had to speak directly to the elves in the restaurant kitchen through a piece of crystal. He would have waited forever until a waiter came their way!  
  
Not a minute after Harry ordered their drinks, two bottles appeared on their table. Harry poured some for Pansy and then for himself and grabbed his menu.  
  
"Everything sounds delicious," Harry said as he looked over the list of continental dishes. They seemed to serve food from every country in Europe. Of course, he wouldn't have understood a thing if the dishes hadn't been translated into English next to their original names.  
  
"What would you like to have?" he asked Pansy.  
  
"Hmm... I think I'll have Ungarisches Gulasch und Spätzle." Who knew Pansy could speak German so well?  
  
"I'll have the flayshweegan," Harry said.  
  
"You pronounce it Fleischweggen," Pansy corrected with a smile. Harry smiled back.  
  
"I think you should be the one to order. I don't want them to bring us some strange stuff instead of the meat roll and Gulasch we intend to order."  
  
"All right," she said and placed their order through the crystal.  
  
..· * º * ·..· * º * ·..· * º * ·..· * º * ·..  
  
Harry and Pansy were finishing the Caprice Chocolat and Croquant Praliné they had respectively ordered for dessert when they saw a tall blonde man rise from a nearby table approach Severus Snape. It was Lucius Malfoy. They hadn't noticed he was in the establishment. He left after a quick exchange with the Potions Master. After a few minutes, a period short enough to be safe but long enough to make it seem unrelated to Lucius' talk to him, Severus looked at them and signalled the three of them should leave.  
  
"I wonder what that was about," Harry said as he placed 25 Galleons on the bill tray that had just appeared on their table.  
  
"He'll probably explain when we're back at Hogwarts. Come on, let's go," Pansy said, getting up from the table and, with Harry close behind, making her way to their Professor's table.  
  
"Are you ready to go?" she asked Severus. She knew they should make it look as if they were leaving because they were finished and not due to some outside reason.  
  
"I am if you are," Severus answered politely.  
  
Pansy and Harry nodded and followed Snape to the lounge to portkey back to the school.  
  
..· * º * ·..· * º * ·..· * º * ·..· * º * ·..  
  
"What was that about?" Harry asked as soon as they arrived at Snape's office. He and Pansy were looking expectantly at their teacher.  
  
"Lucius informed me a group of Death Eaters was about to arrive at the restaurant," he answered. That they would be going there to take Harry was left unsaid.  
  
Pansy gasped at Snape's explanation. She wasn't aware that Harry knew Lucius Malfoy had turned his back on Voldemort.  
  
"Harry knows," Snape said before Pansy had time ask.  
  
Harry, Pansy and Draco were the only students that knew Lucius wasn't a loyal Death Eater. For security reasons, they hadn't been allowed to tell anyone about it and hadn't been told that the others knew. If they didn't know who was acquainted with the situation they had no one to talk to about it, and there were no risks of them being overheard.  
  
"Now, may I suggest you both go to your respective dormitories? Even if tomorrow is Sunday, it is late."  
  
"Right. Goodnight, Professor," Pansy said, heading towards the door.  
  
"Goodnight, Sir," Harry said as they exited the Potions Master's office.  
  
They heard a faint "goodnight" as they closed the door behind them.  
  
"You knew, didn't you?" Pansy asked as they made their way through the hallways to the Slytherin Common Room.  
  
"Yeah... I wasn't allowed to tell anyone about it, that's why I didn't tell you. I had no idea you knew," Harry said.  
  
"I had no idea you knew. I was surprised Professor Snape told me in front of you, but I guess I should have realized straight away you already knew. He wouldn't have been so careless as to go about saying, 'Hey, did you know this man turned into a spy for the Order last summer, when he realized Voldemort is a madman and staying loyal to him would be suicidal?'" she said. Harry noticed how careful she had been not to say any names. "It still surprises me that he let us know the other knows."  
  
"You would have realized I knew if I had accepted to leave without an explanation - which I undoubtedly would have - and it would have been the same with me. Professor Snape must have realized that," Harry said.  
  
They stayed silent until they reached the entrance to the Slytherin Common Room.  
  
"I had fun tonight, despite the abrupt ending of the dinner," Harry said.  
  
"So did I," Pansy said with a smile.  
  
"We could do it again some time?" Harry said, a question rather than a statement.  
  
"I'd like that," Pansy said. She leaned forward and gently brushed her lips against Harry's.  
  
Harry placed his arms around Pansy's waist and pulled her close, deepening the kiss. Their first kiss. It was everything Harry had wished for it to be. Sweet and gentle, yet sensual. Pansy put her arms around Harry's neck and they stood there for a while, kissing, giving the evening the perfect ending that the dinner had been denied.  
  
When they broke the kiss, they just gazed at each other. Neither knew how long they'd been there until finally Pansy spoke.  
  
"Goodnight, Harry," she said before speaking the password and disappearing inside the Common Room.  
  
"Goodnight, Pansy," Harry said before making his way to Gryffindor Tower with a smile.  
  
End  
  
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End file.
